I can go up to somewhere higher (Srila Sridhar Maharaj)

Anartha means “separate
interest.” Krishna consciousness is causeless,nirguna. It has no end.Nirgunameans that the central flow and vibration of
Krishna consciousness is eternal: that wave has no end. Any interest which is
separate from Krishna consciousness isanartha.Arthameans necessity, andanarthais that which is not my
necessity – that which is opposed to my necessity, being based on separate
consciousness and interest.

So to get out of the
trap of separate interest which is misleading us, and to learn how to read the
Infinite, we are to identify with the universal flow, the universal wave. At
present we are being carried away by different waves of separate-interest
consciousness: anartha– it is not necessary for us. Our only necessity
is to merge in the wave of the universal interest, which is for Itself, for
Himself. The Lord says:

aham hi
sarva-yajnanam

bhokta ca prabhur eva ca– Bhagavad Gita 9:24

“I am the only enjoyer
of all sacrifices, of all movement in this world. I am the only enjoyer, and
everything belongs to Me unconditionally.”

God's position is such.
He is paramount. He is the highest harmonizing center, and we must all submit
cent-per-cent to Him. Any deviation from that is anartha. Anarthameans “meaningless,” it has no meaning. The only
real meaning or purpose worthy to be served is the connection with the
universal wave, the universal movement. Anything besides that is anartha– undesirable and unnecessary. The anarthaswill serve no purpose. We are in connection with anarthas, undesirable things which will not serve any real purpose towards
our cause.

But the real cause of
our life, and the whole satisfaction of our very existence will be found only
in connection with the universal wave of the whole Absolute. That is Krishna
consciousness. It is the most universal, fundamental wave and we have to catch
that. Our goal, our satisfaction, and the very fulfillment of our life is only
to be found there, in that layer, in that plane, and not in the superficial
plane of nationality interest, family interest, or social service, for that is
provincialism.

One section of the
population is busy with many local interests, and another section wishes to
stop all activity. To stop one's own movement, to do away with one's own existence,
is renunciation or samadhi, and that is suicidal. We have to give up
renunciation as well as enjoyment. The tendency to do evil and the tendency to
go on strike – both are to be given up. In a nation, we may find so many
workers doing some wrong, going against the principle of the law, and that is
bad because it is disorderly – but to go on strike or to refuse to work is also
bad. The good path is to work only for the interest of the country.

This we have to learn:
from local interest we must go to the universal, the Absolute. We are not to
have any local interest, however extensive it may be. Whether self-centered,
family-centered, village-centered or society-centered as in humanitarianism – it is all only a part of the Infinite. This is the fact, and generally we are
to try to understand things in such a way. The technical words like anartha nivrtti, bhava, asakti, all these are covered by this understanding.

How to conquer lust

Lord Krishna has
recommended inSrimadBhagavad Gitahow one can conquerkama, or lust, by regulating the senses. He advises us to become
acquainted with the nature of the soul, then all the problems caused bykamawill be turned into ashes.

indriyani parany ahur

indriyebhyah param manah

manasas tu para buddhir

buddher yah paratas tu sah

evam buddheh param buddhva

samstabhyatmanam atmana

jahi satrum maha-baho

kama-rupam durasadam

– Bhagavad Gita 3:42-43

(The learned proclaim that the senses are superior to inert objects, the mind is superior to the
senses, and the faculty of resolute intelligence is superior to the mind.
And he who is superior to the intelligence is the soul himself.

O mighty Arjuna! Knowing
the soul to be thus perfectly distinct from the intelligence, steady the mind
with resolute intelligence and destroy the indomitable enemy, lust.)

Lust is not easily
accessible, but is hidden. We cannot easily trace where he lives, but he comes
suddenly, and after looting, disappears. But here we are told that lust really
lives in the intelligence, the mind, and the senses. To conquer that lust we
have to regulate the senses, but in order to do so we must first analyze what
the senses are and what is their position, and then what is the position of the
internal king of the senses, the mind. After that we must analyze what is the
intrinsic position of the buddhi, or the faculty of reason, judgement, and
intelligence. With the help of reason, we must try to find out what is in the
background of that faculty of reason, of judgement, and of decision-making.

In the background is a
pencil-thin ray whose nature is diametrically opposite to the world of
experience. In Srimad Bhagavatam, an example is given that in the night a cloud
may cover the moon. Though the cloud obscures the moon, still the cloud can
only be seen by the light of the moon.

na
rarajodupaschana

svajyotsna
bhasitairghanaih

aham matya bhasitaya

svabhasa puruso jyatha

In this example the soul
is likened to the moon and the ahankara [the false “I”] is likened to cloud cover.
The sense-consciousness, the mind, and the intelligence have all combined to
form a system, ahankara, which has covered the soul. But they are seen,
and it is possible for them to act, only because there is light – the light of
the soul, the moon. So by the help of our reason we must try to perceive what
is above reason, and we shall come to see that it is the atma, or the soul. In this way we may have some direct connection with
the atma, or at least some conception, however vague, of its existence and
nature. At that time our whole material aspiration will turn into trash and
within ourselves we will be able to conquer all the charms of this world. The
Lord's advice in Srimad Bhagavad Gita is to somehow or other try to obtain
understanding of the true nature of our own atma. We are really of such
a superior nature and hold a noble, dignified position in the higher plane, but
lust and so many base things have come to entrap us.

raso 'py asya

param drstva nivartate

– Bhagavad Gita 2:59

(The embodied being may
renounce the sense objects, but the taste for them remains. But that, too,
vanishes for the man of wisdom, by his vision of the Supreme.)

By even slightly coming
in contact with the dignified position of our own soul, all worldly charm will
vanish, and even that will seem to be a negligible thing compared to the
awakening of higher levels of realization all the way up to the Supersoul [Paramatma]
then to Narayana and Krishna. There is so much ecstatic enjoyment on that side,
and it will be realized only when it is revealed within us.

The dignified position
of the soul

Although to our present
conception it is far away, still, that experiencer, that taster is within us:
it is thejivatma[soul],and if we try to concentrate there even for a second, we will
discover what a dignified position the soul holds. We shall think: “Who are
these thieves? The intellect, the mind, the senses – all thieves and
plunderers! They are taking me into the land of misery as if through some
intricate conspiracy.” It will seem like that to us.

indriyani parany ahur

indriyebhyah param manah

– Bhagavad Gita 3:42

(The learned proclaim that the senses are superior to inert objects, the mind is superior to the
senses, and the faculty of resolute intelligence is superior to the mind.
And he who is superior to the intelligence is the soul himself.)

Our senses are superior
in comparison to all the things that we experience around us: if we had no
sense of touch, sight, hearing and so on, then we would have no conception of
anything external. The world would mean nothing to us.

At the center of all the
senses is the mind. Someone may call but we may not hear. We may find: “He was
calling me? Oh, I was unmindful, unconscious, and did not hear him. Even though
I have my senses, because I was unmindful, I did not hear or see him.” So the
mind is the center of the senses, and it has two functions, sankalpa, and vikalpa, or acceptance and rejection. “I want this, I
don't want that; I don't want that, I want this.” This is mainly the function
of the mind.

Higher than the mind is
the buddhi, or intelligence. From the mind we will go up to the buddhi, the reason. What is it? Discrimination. “Oh, my mind wants that,
but that will bring such a reaction, so don't do that.” The buddhi, the intelligence or faculty of judgement will give the warning: “Don't
go! Don't listen to what the mind says! Don't obey him.” That is the
intelligence.

If we go higher,
surpassing the intelligence, searching for what is next, what is above the
intelligence, backing it and making the function of intelligence possible, we
will be able to see: “Oh, this is my real self and everything else is an
outside extension in the material world – it is all a material overcoating. I
can leave it, and with only myself, my own atma, alone, I can go up to
somewhere higher. This present atmosphere is not at all necessary for me,
rather it is harmful, a coating, a garment which has been thrust onto me in
order that I come in connection with this bad environment.” With this
realization, with our soul proper, we can go in a higher direction, towards Paramatma, Narayana, and Krishna.

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Nimaihuset is a small and cozy Gaudiya-Vaishnava temple in Gothenburg, started by Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti. We, his disciples, help him with his projects (see below).

By the way, we are vegetarians, and we don't want to be too pushy about it but it really is a very good idea... For yourself, for the animals, for the environment, for the world economy, and for the future of this planet on the whole.